Goals Update...

Well, I'm seriously failing at getting everything done I had planned on. 

Goals:

-Finish unpacking

-Fill etsy shop and get it really up and running

-Fill a few more boxes to donate/get rid of

-Take donations to donation centers/thrift stores

-Purge all of my papers

-Learn 3 new stitch patterns (knit or crochet)

-Finish making all my old t-shirts into t-shirt yarn and find a pattern for a rag rug that fits the space I want it for.

-Have that dreaded conversation about the future  (we still don't know what's going on for next year, much less the next 5 years)...

-Work to get myself out of this depression

-Participate in yarn along every week that we are home (and I have a knit/crocheted item to show.)

-Do some bread baking

To Do's by Month:

September (Dear Sept, How are you over already and how do I not have the most important things done??!)

-Decorate for Fall

-Make and send birthday gifts to my parents

-Make orthopedist appointment for Dec (now we may not be in PA for Dec, so I need to call and talk to them)

-Find a pediatric dentist and doctor and make dentist appointment for Oct and 3 year appointment for Nov

October

-Pumpkin picking!/Hayride

-Decorate a pumpkin (a first for Alex!)

-Halloween decorations

-Trick-or-Treating or small Halloween celebration (not sure what our new complex's/community's rules are for trick-or-treating

-Add making a birthday and Christmas gift for my husband

-Add October Event for my mom's group

-Add finding a doctor for myself and getting in for an appointment

November

-Birthday/Thanksgiving celebration

-Birthday trip (train ride and remaining day of hotel paid for and scheduled)

-Decorate for Christmas

-Finish making Christmas gifts

-Send birthday gift and card to FIL

-Add wrap gifts for the boys

-Add make a gift for Alex for Christmas

December

-Wrap Christmas gifts

-PA trip/Orthopedist appointment for Alex

-Make and take birthday gift to MIL
A bunch of my goals are somewhat in progress.... I've done a bit more unpacking, filled multiple boxes for donation (but I'm not done yet and the thrift store that would take our donations isn't close by), done plenty of knitting and crocheting, but only one yarn along, which I really miss doing.  Alex and I did make pita bread one day, but I want to make sourdough before the end of the year. I've definitely learned some new stitch patterns (cabling and chain/honeycomb stitch and I learned to crochet a round.)  I was sick for several weeks and need to get myself in to see a doctor also... I have trust issues with doctors and am having trouble choosing one for Alex.  I'm always seeing a ton of feedback for certain doctors in the area.. but unfortunately there's negatives for each one.  I think there's still plenty of time to get him in for all of his appointments... I just need to suck it up and choose one, knowing I can always change doctors again if we need to.

I also had to add a few things to my list of goals and I'm sure I'm forgetting things.  This does not bode well for my ability to get everything done. 

It has been awhile Yarn Along.

No, I haven't stopped knitting, are you crazy?!  I've just been... busy?  Well... that sort of covers it I guess..  My husband found an online work from home job for a few hours a week that I hope he is able to hang on to for a long time... He has heard that they just drop their sub contractors at the drop of a hat with no warning and for no reason...  He also has an early morning position (allowing him to go right to his classes afterwards) starting soon at a retail store... we had been hoping for somewhere with health insurance so we didn't have to continue paying out of pocket, but so far no luck.  Anyway, my husband's working on the computer when tasks become available (normally late at night or early in the morning) doesn't really allow me to do any blogging. ......and when I do I'm normally exhausted and not sure how much sense I'm actually making!

My reading time has been spent on homeschooling sites, reading through curriculum, saving interesting pages and coming up with new activities for my little boy.  I've started to feel so less passionate about my desire to homeschool, which scares me because it is something that I have always wanted to do.  I think all the negativity I get from family remembers and friends is getting to me.  There is a big homeschooling group here that I am working to become a part of for the fall, so I don't worry so much about socialization once we get involved with that group.  When it comes to the educational part of homeschooling.... how many 2 year olds do you know who know their alphabet, numbers and actually have any level of word recognition? I only know one, mine! (I'm sure there's many others, I just don't know any.)  I feel very passionately about teaching him and he loves to work with me, so while he's enjoying learning, making good progress and getting enough socialization, I don't see the problem.... it just gets tiring answering all the "why" questions and defending myself.  Hopefully once we're an active part of the homeschooling group around like minded families, I'll start feeling really excited about it again. 

On the knitting (and crocheting) front..  I've been knitting and crocheting up a storm.  Sorry if any of these are repeats... I can't recall exactly which pieces I've shown before, but I think most, if not all, are new.

tons of headbands in the light colored basket waiting for ribbon to secure the ends, cabled headbands, face scrubbies, tiny owls for barrettes...

Close up of some of  the many cabled headbands I've been making

More face scrubbies

I must have over 100 ends to weave in, which I'm not exactly excited about!  I also followed and completed (not shown) my first intermediate pattern for my dad's birthday.  It was a celtic cabled cloth that was meant to be a dish cloth but came out super thick so I told him to use it as a heat pad to cover up less pretty ones. Most of my pictures look the same as my old yarn along pictures, because I was using up scraps from other projects and trying to work through all my yarn (with both of us having been out of work for quite a while there's not really any leftover money for yarn)...... Then I went out and bought 6 or so skeins of cheap cotton one Sat afternoon because they were on sale for a little over a dollar a skein.... the next day I decided to just go walk around A.C.Moore because they have a nice train table for customer's children to play on (which my son ADORES) and I thought it would be a nice activity for my parents who were visiting and son.  I also knew that there was a drawing in each store for winning yarn... figuring I had no chance I was just browsing with my mom (and helping everyone in the yarn aisle who was trying to find something, I really should get a job there) while my dad played with my son at the train table... suddenly, my name was called over the loudspeaker.  Guess who won $100 worth of yarn?? ME!  (My mom is always winning things, I contribute some of my luck to her being there, I never win anything!) I had to buy it that day from what they had and of course I hadn't brought along my cell phone to call my husband and ask him to look up patterns and read them to me, nor did I bring any patterns with me!  So, I bought pretty yarn that was normally out of my price range.  I'll have to post a picture of it.. it's so pretty and makes me so happy!  Of course they were out of a lot since all the ladies in the area who love yarn were there hoping to win (yes, I did get some dirty looks) were there loading up their carts with yarn.  Anyway, I'm trying to use up the rest of my old yarn first and drooling over patterns trying to pick the perfect pattern that my new yarn will match up with. Part of my purchase from the winning was yarn for a scarf for my mom's Christmas gift, which will have to come before anything for us. 

Linking up to Small Thing's Yarn Along.